Subjectivism is an educational trend of thought formed in modern western countries, mainly represented by Herbart and Herbart school's educational theory. Its emergence and evolution run through the development process of modern western education. Subjectivism originated in the era when scientism and rationalism prevailed. It advocates that the imparting of knowledge and rational development should be the basis and purpose of the education and teaching process, and it pays attention to the discussion of effective ways to impart knowledge and the basic principles and specific ways to study, select and compile knowledge content. Intellectualism emphasizes that knowledge is related to people's cognition, morality, aesthetics and beliefs. Therefore, imparting knowledge is not only an educational activity, but also an education, edification and training, which is the basic way to implement moral education, aesthetic education and religious education. Intellectualism has exerted a wide and far-reaching influence on the development of modern western education. However, due to the limitations of his theory, the theory of subjective intelligence, as the main representative of traditional education, was sharply criticized at the beginning of the 20th century.

Anti-intellectualism was put forward in the book Anti-intellectualism in American Life published by American historian Richard hofstadter in 1962. The book describes how anti-intellectualism runs through the whole history and "practical" American culture, deeply analyzes the historical origin of anti-intellectualism in the United States, and explains different fields such as education, politics and business. The essence of anti-intellectualism is to define intelligence and intellectuals in detail, and to guide the public to become a person who actively safeguards the values of reason, justice and truth. Anti-intellectualism belongs to the social theoretical theory derived from social reflection on the masses, and does not belong to the philosophical category.